#What does any of that mean? continue

[calicotisane]

This is the second and involuntary imaginary friend, Shannon sludgy mad vegetable-lamprey, that named itself over a month ago and controls the rabid jealousy center of my brain

[serpentface]

Faiza performing the Kagnoma Odo (pretty literally 'lion dance'), a weapons dance and one of the more important ritual duties of Odonii priestesses. A relatively new addition to this traditional dance involves the musket as the primary weapon, which is fired mid-twirl into the ground at the climax of the dance. Faiza is experiencing an 'oh fuck' moment because her shot is more than ideally diagonal, but she’s being so cool with it.

This is a wholly ceremonial performance at the onset of the pilgrimage, performed in full regalia and lion skin (of the small, semi-domesticated strain) but no armor. It’s also distinctly a display of political allegiance between the powerful and beloved Odonii priesthood (and its loyal military) with the increasingly reviled and destabilized imperial family, with Faiza prominently wearing a bracelet of the royal serpent, which was gifted (along with the musket) by the usoma Stavis Amanti himself (Usoma is the Wardi word for king, which has been retained in the context of emperors).

The Kagnoma Odo is the ultimate demonstration of the Odonii as an embodiment of the Lion Face of God and living vessel of military might and sovereignty, demonstrating her fitness and proficiency with weapons and as a spiritual unifier for soldiers. It is accompanied by drumming and occurs in stages, running through the three keymost weapons used in war- the spear, the sword, and the musket. The musket is of the most significance, given the weapon has developed a particular esteem as the ultimate embodiment of might and superiority. Assistants (almost always other priestesses, occasionally high ranking soldiers) load and prime the musket to be fired at the climax of the dance, where it is shot into the ground as the priestess leaps out of range of the shot. The firing signals the end of the dance and the rite itself.

While not the utmost exemplar of trigger discipline, only fully inducted and senior (and therefore very thoroughly trained) Odonii are permitted to perform the dance, and injuries during actual performances are quite rare (though are known to occur during training, more than a few Odonii have burns and wounds on their feet).

The most important renditions of this dance are performed upon declarations of war and before battles (in this case, generally done in full armor along with the lion pelt). It is also done during some trainings (while a dance, it is carefully choreographed to include naturalistic maneuvers of the weapons involved and helps soldiers limber up and learn to move their weapons). It is regarded as an impressive and motivating sight and a morale booster, and, seen at a distance, potentially intimidating to enemies.

A special variant of this dance is performed as means of fully incarnating the Odomache, which is done in full nudity with the body covered in the blood of the freshly sacrificed lion and cloaked in its raw pelt (the lion has become the corpse of Odomache in the moment of death, as part of its recreation of God's sacrifice). Her public, full nude appearance once (and only once) in this act is what allows the Lion Face of God to incarnate within her. Those in attendance see the spiritually vulnerable, naked human body obscured with the sanctified and deified blood and cloaked in the sanctified and deified skin. It is a merger of the contradictions of mortality and divinity, the boundaries between the two indistinct in flickering firelight and the flash of musketfire. She is witnessed by her people, dangling in between humanity and divinity and leading them in dance, and and is thus transformed.

[babacontainsmultitudes]

AH. So that's why they put that content warning. I see!

[camellcat]

aughh rewatched my favourite ep today and !! vamp willow still sort of confiding in xander even after she realized he wasn't her xander. he asks if she's okay and she straight up tells him no because everything is so horribly wrong and he obviously doesn't know what's going on because he's alive now but he still cares about her, doesn't he? yes. clearly. so maybe they can stick together like she's used to. and then she shuts down the moment someone else walks into their bubble

feeling very normal about this

[luck-of-the-drawings]

[<==PREV PAGES] [NEXT PAGE==>(not out yet.wait a year.or maybe more.imagine.]

saw alot of comments on prev pages; saying 'i HATE that mean teacher! im gonna FIGHT HIM!!' & i LOVE the energy!! it WOULD be nice. to have that catharsis. but the story of young tidestrider is Not one of catharsis. it is a story of being so small and so special and sucking so bad.

[qoldenskies]

Do you have anything to say about cc Donnie and Splinter? Any crumbs? I need them🥺

I UNDERSTAND YOU THEY ARE THE SWEETEST.... im trying to think about what i could say hrmmmm. i love how endeared cc!splinter finds donnie when he's being like,, earnestly himself. i think he's always found him charming (he loves his baby so much!!!!) but he's not really laughing at him or anything anymore, when he kind of did before? in the kind of way someone would do so to a much younger child; i think it's a big reason he accidentally disregarded donnie's feelings, because he was out of their lives for so long once the depression hit and sometimes he's hit in the face with the fact that they're fully-formed individuals with serious emotional dilemmas and complexes and such (he didn't miss them developing, but he wasn't all there). he's not that way anymore with the curse said and done. he's learned his lesson.

honestly he's the one who respects donnie's autonomy the most out of anyone (behind mikey, who even then has to contend with a lot of trauma that can inhibit him). that's his sweet little baby boy but he's also going to be the first one to gently push him out of his comfort zone and encourage him to try new things, while the others are weak and will fold like a house of cards in most circumstances. this kind of adds a new flavor to their dynamic that im trying to put into words,,, it's like, splinter makes it so everything is an inside joke between them, in a way. he'll make an underhanded joke to one of the others and wink at donnie to make him laugh. he's always pushing him to take up more space, to assert himself and ask for a little more. he finds the way the other three will trip over themselves to accommodate him to be adorable, although he worries when it goes too far. he's gentle in a way that doesn't make donnie feel guilty. he's a breath of fresh air when donnie feels overwhelmed, because splinter makes it all feel so seamless sometimes.

there's a lot of silly jokes about how he doesn't have favorites, but also it's donnie (they all know its just him playing around but i dont even think they'd pretend to be upset for the sake of the joke, i think they'd just sagely nod like its the most understandable thing ever). he goes out of his way to make him feel loved without making it completely serious, because he understands that's relieving. he's really good at letting donnie in on the joke without being pushy about it. he's different than he was before but he lets donnie feel so normal in a lot of ways, and it's a breath of fresh air sometimes. i think more than anything splinter just wants to see him happy and smiling again, and he'll support pretty much anything that allows that. he can do whatever he wants forever 💖 the others have their limits because they care about his safety maybe a little too much but splinter will enable his deranged behavior now, he deserves to do a little more terrorism. as a treat

anyways donnie is going to be absolutely fucking devastated and inconsolable when he dies i hope you know that

[freezinglemur]

It burns…it hurts. 

It hurts so much.

Slow, shaky breathing is the only sound to leave the little sapling as it lays in the grass, keeping its eye shut.

Why? It had tried so hard…it had one job! One purpose! And now? Now?! Now…now it just hurt.

Hate. They should feel so much hate, but it is too tired now to feel such a thing in the way it thinks it should.

It almost wants to cry, not that it has much energy for that either if it wanted to.

Their few thoughts are paused by a gentle touch. It’s…familiar, and cooler in temperature. It doesn’t burn. Somehow it's simultaneously and contradictorily warm in a sense, but not in the same way fire is. They can’t explain the sensation, but it knows who the sensation belongs to.

The void gently brushes one of their hands over the little spirit’s head. 

Why didn’t xe just give up? Feel disdain towards it like everything else? Why hadn’t they fought it like the burning ram had, even upon knowing its intentions fully? It should hate that being, but it can’t find the energy to right now. Xe did get them free, it supposed, even if it was all for not. It should–

“Shh…”

The thoughts pause again. The burns…hurt slightly less where the void lays xir hand.

“You did your best. It is time to rest now, Birch. She’ll be here to collect you soon.”

She…? Master…?

It’s hard to say, the sapling is exhausted. The void tucks a small, familiar lantern under the tree’s cloak. It limply rests its hands around it…something else to focus on. It was nice to not have darkness for a time. What a waste, now…maybe they will keep it. Out of spite–that’s all…yeah. Just...just out of spite. Right.

It feels the void rise, the figure gently removing their hands and taking a few steps back. A tendril still holds on a moment longer. Perhaps they’ll stay...?

It isn’t long before Birch is scooped up by someone else, however; someone…familiar in a different way. The void says a farewell to the sapling, and to whomever has picked it up, but the little tree doesn’t process the words well, and they cannot answer. The tendril gently falls away, returning to its owner.

The spirit feels so weak, and so tired…so very, very tired.

‘It’s time to rest, little sapling. Until we meet again.’

It gives in, it falls asleep.

And Hex departs with it in her arms.

(Based on the events of @ask-the-secret-weapons (Bonus below))

The two share a brief glance. They share an understanding, somehow, perhaps if only due to the tree and their connections to it.

Opal, as they call their vessel, stands and watches Hex depart. They hold no malice towards her nor the sapling; in xir mind, it hardly did anything wrong.

All the grudges, sins, hatred, and malice from being trapped so long–those souls had every right to feel as they did in their restlessness, and the tree only was fulfilling its given orders and purpose. Very little wrong with that, in the Void’s many eyes.

The horned god of the hearth hardly did anything wrong either; He was created, though told little of his purpose. Sentient with the ability to question, he deserved answers, to think, and to choose what to do. While Opal had hardly expected such a hasty decision to release little Birch from the burning Ram, they did not blame the Wickerman for his choice. Very little wrong with that, in the Void’s many eyes.

The town itself. It has done many wrong, and many right. Some deserve the wrath that was coming, some may not, but no one particularly wants to die. They are not wrong for wanting to preserve themselves, either. Very little wrong with that, in the Void’s many eyes.

The Phalanx. Believing they could contain things forever, they have grown so accustomed to disaster being contained or controlled. They have lulled themselves into a false sense of security, believing they are forever on top. That they can use these “secret weapons” as they call them, for whatever they please one day. “Strength in Control,” and yet, they have little control now. Perhaps they can lie to themselves longer. Rather amusing, in the Void’s many eyes.

The rest of the “weapons” themselves…quite the collection. A shame, a princess stolen away, what is she without her people, twisted into a form meant for war? What would the supercomputer think if she knew what had happened to this old friend, would she morn? A doctor, kept complacent by its programing, his only purpose to make others “happy,” what is he when forsaken? An escaped employee of this superstructure, running to make a life for himself away from disassembly; is he wrong for wanting and taking such a freedom? 

They cry out for aid, it is a shame, in the Void’s many eyes. The Void hears all the cries which do not manage to reach anyone else, desires that hide deep within, the void listens, and it provides its own aid in certain ways.

Alton, you are supposed to heed the call of your creations, and yet you give them silence. You shirk your responsibilities, and they pay the price.

And in the Void's many eyes...

There is something wrong with that. 👁

[askblueandviolet]

Macaque, you are a freeloader...

At least give The Mayor a kiss. 😗

MASTER POST

Asks Start 💙💜

Previous 💙💜

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[aaaaanndbackstabbed]

Goldie: Be a better person!!

Scrooge: Why?!

Goldie: Because someone in this relationship need to have morals, and it sure as fuck ain’t gonna be me, sweetheart!!

[thefloatingwriter]

ambrosia by ang3lic1

summary:

“Tell me something you’ve never told anyone else.” or, a conversation in the Capitol.

[andiv3r]

Having to block everyone who has "wincest dni" in their bio not because I ship wincest (because I have come to the conclusion that I actually don't) but because I do think it'd be fun to poke around at the very real weirdness of their relationship that I've noticed in the show so far. And I'm 99% sure that my poking around will get seen as shipping.

[quibbs126]

So Alpha Trion says that the miners had their cogs removed before they came online. But like, what does that mean?

Like okay, we know from context and such that the miners’ cogs were removed basically right after being born, and I think it’s a fair guess to assume they were created from the planet in some way by Primus, given that’s been the general backstory, and if other bots were creating them, someone would have noticed their cogs going missing, or Sentinel would just order they aren’t made

Though I’m not sure where specifically they come from, since the Well of All Sparks seems to be basically a bottomless pit to the core of the planet, and the place didn’t seem particularly protected or decorated for where new bots would come straight out. Also it’s too public for no one to notice Sentinel removing the new bots’ cogs

But moving on from that, we know it happens right after they’re born, but also none of them remember it, and D-16 says as long as he remembers, his port’s always been empty. As far as we’re aware, these bots don’t really have developmental cycles, despite what we like to think, so theoretically they don’t have a case of baby memory where they just can’t remember. Again, they say it’s before they came online, so presumably it was within the time frame of being born from the AllSpark, and coming online

But like, why is there that time gap where you can conceivably remove a bot’s T-cog? Are they born unconscious? Do they take a day for all their systems to come online? Why? What’s going on here?

[dogwaterdish]

I've elected to ignore 430 & midoriya losing OFA for good, the ending did not do my favorites justice so I am pretending it didnt happen forever - only thing I'll accept is midoriya becoming a teacher

[attractthecrows]

damn it. now i need to design a Rook so i can actually do something with this mental image of the collective look on Rook and Solas's face when Nessie refers to Solas as "that old fart"

[crownedwille]

I've come to the conclusion that loving young royals doesn't mean I can't be critical about it, maybe especially bc I love the show so much I have such strong feelings about it, good and bad and I can love parts of canon and agree with it and appreciate it but I don't have to love it all. I have accepted that it's okay if I don't accept the ending and I don't have to force myself to support it. It's okay to not agree with all of canon and it's okay to not side with all of the creators' intentions/views. Loving a show doesn't mean you have to take everything the writers say on face value and that's the only version that is allowed to exist. Canon isn't everything and fandom is about curating your own experience that makes you happy and not miserable. You don't have to dismiss canon in every aspect and ignore it entirely, that's certainly not what I want but there is a fine line between being canon respectful, allowing some parts to exist and sometimes, yes, you just have to say "fuck canon" and move on for your own sanity and wellbeing

[constantvariations]

Adam takes a very specific stance over his fallen foes: boot on their chest, weapon in his hand, and a smirk on his face

You think that's the last thing he ever saw with two eyes?